Beverley Knight is bringing some Memphis soul to Scotland ...

Debbie Clarke

Following the release of her latest Top 10 album last year singer, songwriter and actress Beverley Knight is embarking on a new UK tour for summer 2017.

And the new tour includes a Scottish date at the Glasgow 02 ABC on Wednesday, June 28.

Beverley will perform her only Scottish date in Glasgow.

Beverley is taking to the road again after a string of sold out gigs in the spring of 2016 and having completed a six month run in the smash hit West End musical The Bodyguard in January of this year.

On the new tour she will play a broad set featuring hits from her career, highlights from her latest album Soulsville as well as a few surprises that fans have come to expect from her legendary live shows.

Recorded last year at Royal Studios in Memphis, the Soulsville album celebrates the music, sounds and legacy of Memphis and was produced by Grammy nominated Justin Stanley. It features original material co-written by Beverley alongside a handful of classic Memphis covers.

The new tour will see her perform favourite tracks from this latest hit album including the self-written Radio Two A-listed airplay hit Middle of Love and the singer’s stunning version of the Ann Peebles classic I Can’t Stand The Rain as well as fan favourites spanning her recording career like Shoulda Woulda Coulda and Come As You Are.

Beverley will perform songs from her latest album as well as her biggest hits.

There will also be a nod to her newer role as leading lady of the West End.

The triple Mobo winner and multiple Brit nominee said: “Last year was so full of professional highlights – releasing my eighth studio album Soulsville and performing again in the West End to name but two.

“My first love is appearing on stage as myself and I can’t wait to give it my all again on the new Soulsville tour.”

Beverley explained what fans can expect from the show in Glasgow. She said: “It will mostly be showcasing the songs from the Soulsville album which came out last year and I will also be playing the hits and the songs that people will know from my back catalogue.

“There will be a little touch of musical theatre as well. There will be a lot to get through so I will be trying to cram in as many songs as I can and it should be a good show!”

She also revealed which songs she is looking forward to performing on the summer tour: “I always look forward to doing my first single Flavour of the Old School from 1995.

“It was my first hit record and that was the catalyst for everything else that followed. It is nice to be reminded of where it all began and it is good to look back and say this is where I started from. It is a joyous song and I love doing it.

“Of course there are the fan favourites as well like Shoulda Woulda Coulda and Come as You Are – as well as a few others that people love to hear. It is so difficult to explain what it is like to hear the audience reaction and to hear them singing your songs, unless you are on stage with me or unless I capture it on film.

“But it’s a real real moment and I revel in it. That is why we do this as artists – it’s amazing to hear people singing your songs back to you, a real infinity.”

But what is her opinion of fans north of the border?

“The Scottish fans are fabulous. The last time I was in Scotland I was on the other side of the country, in the east in Edinburgh. I wondered what the fans in Edinburgh were going to bring, but they were just as rowdy as the Glaswegians!

“I am really looking forward to coming to Glasgow and hearing that familiar roar. The audiences in Scotland are just wonderful.”

Beverley explained where the inspiration for her latest album came from, revealing that it celebrates the sound of Memphis.

She said: “The songs from my Soulsville album were inspired from my time in Memphis.

“My music producer sent me to Memphis – it’s a place I had always wanted to go to as it is the home of rock n roll and where it all began. It did not disappoint at all.

“I walked down Beale Street which is known for legendary performers like Elvis and B.B King and I drank it all in. When I went to the Royal Studios I thought I am going to record an album in this room so I started to get ideas for songs when I was out there and it is the best recording studio memory I have ever had.”

More recently the singer has been performing on stage in Toronto with The Bodyguard. She finished starring in the show in London’s West End in January.

The Bodyguard is a 2012 stage musical written by Alexander Dinelaris and it is based on the 1992 film which starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The score features songs recorded by Whitney Houston and includes Queen of the Night, One Moment in Time, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and her cover version of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You.

The award-winning show tells the story of former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard Frank Farmer who is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker and how the two characters initially clash before falling in love.

The show brings the story forward to the present day and changes the focus of the story to bring the character of Rachel Marron to the forefront rather than the bodyguard. The script, adapted from the original screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, also expands the role of Marron’s sister Nicki.

The musical has wowed audiences in Germany, Korea, the USA and Utrecht with sell-out runs in London’s West End and a tour throughout the UK, Ireland and Europe. Recently it has been staged in Toronto where Beverley has been performing the lead role of Rachel Marron once again.

She said: “It was a wonderful experience – I was reprising the role after having done it three-four years previously. I have really enjoyed my experience in musical theatre and I am grateful for the support I have had doing it. It has been a fantastic show to be a part of.”

As for the rest of 2017 Beverley revealed what lies ahead: “I finish up in the Bodyguard and then I will be going on tour and then I will be making another album, with a holiday somewhere in between!”

She added: I am really looking

forward to coming to Scotland – I have a few friends from school who have moved there and they are coming to see the show so I am really looking forward to seeing them.”

Beverley Knight will perform at the Glasgow O2 ABC on Wednesday, June 28. Tickets are available from: http://gigst.rs/BKnight and www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Beverley-Knight-tickets/artist/932833.